Synopsis enFour friends retreat into “the unspoiled nature”, reflecting upon alternative ways of (communal) living outside the social reality of busy city-life. Through the re-enactment of mystical rituals or theatrical experiments in nature, Le Chalet excites a - though fictitious - utopian commu nity. It uses a cliché imagery of our contemporary experience of nature which underlines the fictitious dichotomy between nature and culture. Documentary, fiction and horror blend almost imperceptibly into one another and the shack becomes a character that slowly comes to life. All the more, the camera transforms into an omniscient eye considering humans, animals and objects as each others equals.

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"In Le Chalet, four friends trek into unspoilt nature. Finding refuge in a small chalet, they share dailyrituals and habits. Together they cook and eat, take walks in the woods, dance, and read stories toeach other. Youthfully idealistic, the group hopes to find a sanctuary for cohabitation andcomtemplation, far away from standardised, socialised urban life. Their dwelling place reminds of along tradition of communes which – in an attempt to escape ‘a toxic society’ – have surrendered tonature, like the Naturists or the hippie movement.Slowly, however, the idyll offered by the chalet and the surrounding wildlife yields to a feeling ofalienation. The camera, observing their activities, starts to creep up on the group of friends. Whilethey are washing dishes or dancing the night away, the camera stalks them unsuspectedly. Voicesdisappear, sounds become sinister, characters toss and turn in bed, and two knots in a wooden wallbear an eerie resemblance to tearful eyes. Utopia is turning into an oppressive nightmare in which thechalet seems to come to life and the actors are condemned to each other."